Westcoast Ignite Partner Symposium 2017 - A View From The Top

By Lee Prior

Well it’s been a week since the event and already I’ve had several people asking me when the next Ignite Partner Symposium is likely to be. Short answer is “not until 2018,” but that’s not to say you won’t have every opportunity to learn more about Westcoast, HPE, Microsoft and all the subject matter that was discussed during another great day.

Those partners that made the trip 500ft up to Landing 42 of the Leadenhall Building on the 27th April were treated not only to a great view across our Capital, but also some insightful and informative presentations on the direction and relative benefits of Hybrid IT, an enthusiastic and thought-provoking session on Aruba, IOT and all things Mobility from Eugene Berger, and details on the future role of Simplivity from European VP John Lucey to name but a few.

Hungry, Hungry HPE

By Lee Prior 

So far 2017 has been a pretty interesting year for HPE. We’re only half way through March and already we’ve seen them extend their portfolio through the acquisition of enterprises like Simplivity, Niara and now most recently Nimble, with each of these additions being met with the slow head nod of general approval by the wider technology sector. That in itself is an achievement some would say, but when you consider the pace of change we are seeing, with Hybrid IT finally releasing the long promised potential of the Cloud and the reality of the Internet of Things cresting the horizon, to be able to navigate the turbulent waters of such rapid progress with a steady course, speaks volumes about the crew at the helm of the good ship HPE.

Once upon a time a story about a large IT company consuming one of their smaller rivals wasn’t really “Big News”, and had more to do with Darwinian natural selection, stock market roulette, Sabre Rattling or just plain good old fashioned billionaire vs billionaire ego than it did with a clear strategic vision or a drive for innovation - but things have changed.

As a lowly Marketing Manager, albeit for the biggest HPE Distributor in the UK, this type of corporate manoeuvring was an interesting side note that held my attention for as long as I was able to read without interruption, but ultimately news of a buyout had very little bearing on my day to day life. That is most decidedly not the case now, and rather than acquisition for acquisition’s sake these additions have the whiff of strategy about them, with each bringing their own particular part of the answer to a far larger question.